Method and apparatus for forming sealing devices on fasteners

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for forming sealing and/or retaining elements on a wide variety of fastening devices is provided. The fasteners are conveyed on fastener nests each having a chamber, a fastener lock and a fastener release that are moveable relative to each other. The fasteners then have material applied to them which is cured while the fasteners are in the nests on the conveyor. The fasteners with the sealing and/or retaining element formed thereon are then removed therefrom. A novel fixture for holding fasteners to be processed and an element sealing device having a fastener with a resilient sealing element adhered to a portion thereof with a depression formed therein in close proximity to a portion of the fastener is also provided.

This application is a continuation of PCT Application No.PCT/US03/20980, filed Jul. 7, 2003, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/393,601, filed Jul. 5, 2002.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for formingsealing elements on a variety of fastening devices and novel sealing andretaining devices resulting therefrom. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to an automated method and apparatus for forming acompressible sealing element on and extending from a metal fastener suchas a clip, that prohibits air and moisture transfer between the top andbottom portions of the clip, and yet allows both portions of the clip toremain flexible for easy installation into a finished assembly. Thepresent invention further relates to a method and apparatus for forminga sealing element on a fastening device, such as a metal clip, whereinthe sealing element contains a region that permits installation thereofinto a finished article with low installation force.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fastening devices such as metal retaining clips are extensively used invarious articles of manufacture. Such devices have for many years,provided a reliable, efficient and cost effective way of grasping andretaining one material and joining it to a separate substrate. Anexample of a metal clip that is prevalently used in the automobileindustry is a T-shaped clip that has a central clip on its lower portionfor anchoring it to a substrate, and two smaller spaced clips at theouter edges of the upper portion thereof for receiving and retainingmaterial and thereby joining it to the substrate. One of the many usesof such metal retaining clips is joining trim to the interior of avehicle door frame. In this example, the lower central clip engages thedoor frame and the upper spaced clips engage and anchor the door trim tothe clip, and thereby the frame.

One of the drawbacks associated with use of metal clips of the typedescribed above, is that they are often installed in places where theywill encounter water or moisture. Due to the irregular shape of theclips, once they are installed they leave voids where moisture cantransfer from the upper portion of the clip to the lower portion of theclip and the hole that it is pressed into. Such occurrences can lead toa collection of liquid or moisture in the hole and/or further negativeeffects that can result from a door frame or other parts being exposedto moisture or liquids over an extended period of time. In addition tothese problems, the clips do not lessen sound transmission between thelower portion of the clip and the upper portion, and are alsosusceptible to rattling or loosening as a result of vibration or impact.All of these occurrences obviously present undesirable drawbacks in anautomobile or other article of manufacture that utilize such clips.

In order to overcome these drawbacks, several solutions have beenproposed. However, none of the solutions has had the attributes of beingsufficiently reliable and economical. A number of solutions haveinvolved the application of a sealing device on a clip between the topand bottom portions thereof, in order to allow a receiving hole that theclip is pressed into to be sealed in a water-tight manner. These knownsolutions for adding a sealing element to metal retaining clips,however, have all presented some rather significant problems. To beginwith, such sealing devices have required a pre-formed element to befirst manually installed on the clip. The process of manual installationhas been slow, costly and lends itself to installation problems, such asalignment difficulties. In addition, manual installation of suchelements requires a relatively precise tolerance, that frequently is notpresent, in order to have the sealing device be close enough to the clipso that it will be retained and yet loose enough to permit initialinstallation. Most all of the manually installed sealing elements of theprior art have required a subsequent heating or baking step in order toadhere them and form a water tight seal on the clip.

The difficulties encountered in attempting to properly manually installsuch sealing elements on the clips were frequently compounded when theentire assembly was subjected to heating. The end result was oftenuneven or incomplete adherence of the device to the clip surfaceinsufficient to form a water tight seal therewith. In instances wheresuch a seal was achieved, the clip often did not remain sufficientlyflexible to permit easy installation. An additional problem facing suchprior art assemblies was the fact that once the sealing element wasformed on the clip, the clip then had to be installed into an articlesuch as a door frame by exerting a sufficient amount of force toovercome the spring bias of the clip. This process often required asignificant installation force to be placed on the clip and at least aportion of the sealing element thereon. The application of suchinstallation forces often compromised the sealing between the elementand the clip causing it to weaken or tear away. This resulted in aninterruption of the moisture proof seal between the sealing device andthe clip and rendering the assembly unfit for use.

As a result of the foregoing is apparent that a need exists for asimple, efficient and automated apparatus and method for forming asealing element on a fastener such as a clip. It is further apparentthat the need exists for an improved sealing element on a metal clipthat adheres as well or better than prior art designs, and provides aconstriction that permits installation of the clip with low installationforce without compromising the sealing action and leaves the clipsufficiently flexible for easy installation. It is the purpose of thepresent invention to fulfill the above described needs in the art, aswell as other needs apparent to the skilled artisan from the followingdetailed description of this invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for formingsealing and/or retaining elements on fasteners such as clips, thatachieves the above mentioned requirements in an automated manner. Themethod and apparatus of the present invention forms a sealing and/orretaining device onto a fastener that has at least two clips, one ormore on its upper portion and another on its lower portion, and forms awater-tight seal between those clips in an automated process. Thepresent invention further relates to an automated method and apparatusthat forms such sealing elements on clips where the sealing element hasa cavity molded therein that permits installation of the clip into asubstrate with lower installation force without compromising theadhesion of the sealing element to the clip. Such sealing elementsfurther permit greater flexibility of the clip without compromising theadhesion of the sealing device thereto.

The present invention fulfills the above described needs in the art andprovides these and other advantages in a method and apparatus forforming sealing devices on fasteners such as clips and the sealingdevices adhered to clips that result therefrom. Present inventionfurther satisfies the needs in the art and provides these and otheradvantages by providing a novel parts nest and method that carries thefasteners for processing and an endless conveying system that conveysthese nests there along in a racetrack configuration where the fastenersare introduced to the conveyor processed with sealing and/or retainingelements and removed from the conveyor in less than one full lap of theconveyor.

These and other advantages are provided in an apparatus for formingsealing element on fasteners comprising a first conveyor, a plurality offastener nests along the first conveyor system, each of the nest havinga chamber, a fastener lock and a fastener release that are moveable toeach other, an applicator located along the conveyor that selectivelyapplies material to the nests that have fasteners thereon and a removerfor removing fasteners from the nests. These and other advantages arealso provided in a method for forming sealing elements on fastenerscomprising the steps of conveying a plurality of fastener nests, each ofsaid nests having a chamber, a fastener lock and a fastener release thatare moveable relative to each other from a first position wherein saidchamber is open to a second position wherein a portion of said lock islocated within said chamber to a third position, wherein a portion ofsaid release is in said chamber, introducing fasteners into saidchambers of fastener nests while said nest are in said first position,applying material to a predetermined portion of each fastener containedin a nest and heating the fastener nests to a temperature sufficient tocure the material applied in the nests in the applying step and removingthe fasteners from the nests.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention has a wide variety of configurations,constructions, operations and results. The invention itself, and itsobjects, benefits and advantages thereof, will best be understood byreference to the following detailed description, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view illustrating the apparatus and sequence ofprocess steps of one preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the post application heating, staking/coolingand drying stations of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an example of a clip that can beprocessed utilizing the present invention.

FIG. 3B is an example of a sealing element formed utilizing the presentinvention on the clip illustrated in FIG. 3B.

FIG. 4 illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of one embodiment of aparts nest of the present invention in a load configuration taken alongthe section 4—4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of one embodiment ofthe load station of the present invention taken along the section 5—5 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 6A is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the section 6—6 ofFIG. 5 illustrating one embodiment of an automatic parts loader of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6B is a partial side plan view taken of the parts loaderillustrated in FIG. 6A in a release or finish position.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the section 7—7 ofFIG. 1 illustrating a preferred embodiment of a parts nest of thepresent invention with a clip loaded and seated therein.

FIG. 8 is perspective view of an embodiment of a parts profile gate andredundant parts nester of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along section 9—9 of FIG.1 of a preferred embodiment of the redundant parts nester illustrated ina contact position with a clip.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a series of camrollers contacting parts nests.

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of aparts nest in a loaded and gated position taken along the section 11—11of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of an embodimentof an error detection device of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of a pre-applicationheating device.

FIG. 14 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the applicationstation of the present invention.

FIG. 14A is a partial cross-sectional view of the application stationillustrated in FIG. 14, taken along the section 14A of FIG. 1.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the post application heatingstation, taken along the section 15—15 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 16 is a side view of a portion of the staking and cooling device ofthe present invention.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of a coolantstation of the present invention taken along the section 17—17 of FIG.2.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a parts removalsystem of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a partial cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of aparts nest of the present invention in an unload position, taken alongsection 19—19 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 20 is a partial cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment ofthe parts removal system of the present invention, taken along thesection 20—20 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 21 is a partial cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment ofthe parts removal system illustrated in FIG. 20, taken along the section21—21 of FIG. 1, in a lift and remove mode.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

This invention will now be described with reference to the drawingfigures in which like reference numbers indicate like parts throughoutthe several views. A particularly preferred embodiment and use of thepresent invention, namely the molding of a plastisol sealing element toa metal clip as illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, will now be describedfor exemplary purposes. It will be understood and appreciated by thoseof skill in the art that the present invention is not limited to formingsealing elements on the particular clips illustrated in FIG. 3A or onretaining clips in general. The present invention can be utilized toform sealing and/or retaining elements on a wide variety of fasteningdevices other than clips. It will be further understood by those skilledin the art, that the invention is not limited to the formation of theparticular sealing element illustrated in FIG. 3B. The present inventionpermits a wide variety of types, geometries and configurations ofsealing and/or retaining elements of different materials to be formed onmetal or other substrates.

A typical part that is processed utilizing the present invention by themolding of a sealing element thereto is a metal clip illustrated in FIG.3A and referred generally at 12. The clip 12 is generally T-shaped andfeatures a central lower clip 16 on its lower portion and two outwardlyspaced retaining elements, 18 and 20 respectively, on its upper portion.Each of the retaining elements features a rounded closed bottom referredto as 19 and 21 respectively. The top edges 22 and 23 of the retainingelements 18 and 20 respectively, extend vertically above the main body14. A portion of the main body 14, forms one side of the lower clip 16with the front wall 24 forming the remaining part. The lower clip 16 ispartially closed at its bottom and open at its top. A gap, generallyreferred to as 26, exists between the front wall 24 and the main body14. The design of the lower clip 16 permits limited inward movement ofthe front wall 24 relative to the main body 14 when a compressive forceis exerted thereon to accomplish installation of the clip 12 into asubstrate. A biasing force is built into the lower clip 16 that returnsthe clip to its original position and retains it in the substrate afterthe compressive force applied during installation is removed.

As generally referred to above, clips such as those illustrated in FIG.3A are used extensively in a variety of articles of manufacture,including automobiles. One particular use involves inserting the lowerclip 16 into a vehicle door frame and engaging trim work in theretaining elements 18 and 20 respectively. In such environments, thelower clip 16 is pressed into a hole in the vehicle door frame or otherarticle of manufacture. Such constructions readily permit moisture orliquid from the upper portion 15 of the clip or thereabove, to freelyfall into and collect in the hole that the lower clip 16 is insertedinto potentially creating problems as previously described. The presentinvention forms a resilient sealing element 28, as illustrated in FIG.3B, on the retaining clip 12. The element forms a completely water-tightseal around a body of the clip 14 and prohibits moisture transferbetween the upper portion 15 and the lower clip 16. In the illustratedembodiment, the element 28 is preferably rectangular in shape andcompletely seals the gap 26 and contacts the bottoms 19 and 21 of theretaining elements 18 and 20 respectively. The sealing element 28,maintains a watertight seal with all portions of the clip 12 that it isadhered to while still allowing the lower clip 16 to remain flexible foreasy installation. In preferred embodiments of the sealing element 28, adepression 30 is formed in the upper surface thereof between the top 27of the front wall 24 and the main body 14 and preferably extends in theopposite direction substantially between the retaining elements 18 and20. The depression 30 accomodates and positions an installation tool andmakes it easier to install a clip having a retaining element formedthereon by the present invention using low installation force that doesnot compromise the sealing action between the device and the clip.

The novel sealing element of the present invention provides furtheradvantages and benefits in that it can be formed on a retaining clip orthe like in an automated process. One such preferred processing systemis illustrated in FIG. 1 and generally referred to as 10. The system 10relies upon a conveyor 32 running the entire length thereof to carryclips 12 through a variety of stations, each in a parts nest 34 that ismoved by the conveyor as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 7. The conveyor 32is preferably provided with a plurality of parts nests 34, each of whichaccommodates a single clip 12. The parts nests 34 are also preferablyspaced uniformly and adjacent to one another in order to maximizeprocessing speed for the clips 12.

Parts processed in accordance with the system 10 of the presentinvention are preferably processed along a single conveyor 32 obviatingthe need to transfer the parts to or from multiple conveying systems. Avariety of different geometries, such as a single linear conveyor can beused. A particularly preferred arrangement of the system 10 and conveyor32 of the present invention is a racetrack type configuration such as isillustrated in FIG. 1. Such a configuration has several advantages.First, it minimizes the floor space needed for the overall system. Thisconfiguration also permits the processing of clips, or other parts, inslightly less than one lap of the conveyor. The layout of thisparticular configuration also affords a benefit in that it provides twoopposed extended length linear sections where all of the processing andhandling of parts can take place. It likewise has two small turnsections, one at either end, that maximize the length of the conveyordedicated to processing and minimize the floor space necessary for theoverall system.

A preferred embodiment of the system 10, illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2will now be described as utilized to form sealing elements on metalretaining clips as illustrated in FIG. 3B. In order to form a sealingelement 28 on a succession of retaining clips 12, the clips must befirst placed in movable parts nests 34 along the conveyor 32. Parts canbe placed in the individual parts nest 34 either manually orautomatically. In the illustrated embodiment the retaining clips 12 areautomatically loaded into successive parts nests 34 in the auto loadarea 36 of the system 10. Each parts nest 34 is movable between threedifferent positions, an open or load position, a locked or gatedposition and an unload position as will be described more fully below.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 6A and 6B, each parts nest 34 has a base 38 thatis removably attached to the conveyor 32 by a plate 39 by screws orother known attachment mechanism. Centrally mounted along the topsurface of the base 38 is a dowel pin holder 40. The holder 40 has anarrow base 41 and an extended body 42 above the base. A dowel pin 44extends outwardly from the inner face 43 of the body 42. Mounted nearthe opposite end of the base 38 is a stop 46. The stop 46 preferably hasa wide main body 51 with an angled top 48 that is located above andsupported by a narrow bottom 47. A part remover 49 also projectsupwardly from the base 38. The remover 49 is preferably located adjacentto the inboard surface 45 of the stop 46. The part remover features anangled inboard surface 50 and is axially aligned with, but verticallyspaced from, the dowel pin 44.

The parts nest 34 has a slide 52 that is journaled for a limited degreeof sliding movement along the top of the base 38. The slide 52 featuresa central rectangular slot 54. A portion of the holder base 40, stopbottom 47 and remover 49 are located within the slot 54. A parts holder56 is rigidly attached to the top surface of the slide 52. The holder 56has a mold cavity 58 and a central chamber 59 below the cavity. Dowelpin passageways 60 and 61 respectively, extend from the central chamber59 through the parts holder 56 to opposite ends thereof. The partsholder 56 also has a channel 57 that runs along its entire length underthe passageways 60 and 61. The channel 57 is dimensioned to permit freemovement of the part remover 49 therethrough. The slide 52 also hasangled end portions 62 and 63 respectively, that engage various camrollers of the system 10 and shuttle the slide 52 and the holder 56attached thereto along the base 38. Axial movement of the holder 56 islimited at one end by the inner face 43 of the dowel pin holder 40 andby the inboard surface 45 of the stop 46 at the other end. Verticalmovement of the slide is prohibited by the under surfaces of the stopbody 51 and dowel pin holder body 42 on one side and the base 38 on theother side. As the slide 52 shuttles along the base 38, the partsremover 49, stop bottom 47 and pin holder base 41 all move within theslot 54. The top surface of the parts holder 56 is also provided withguides 64 and 65 that assist in aligning and stabilizing the clips 12.

In order to accomplish the automatic loading of the clips 12 intosuccessive parts nests 34, the nests must be in their center or loadposition as illustrated in FIG. 4. In this position the dowel pin 44 isjournaled within the passageway 60, and the mold cavity 58 and centralchamber 59 are completely open. With the nests 34 in this position, theclips 12 are then introduced in bulk into a vibratory feed bowl. Thefeed bowl 66 separates, uniformly orients and exits the clips in acontinuous side by side manner. Although a variety of known bowls areequally suitable to accomplish this purpose, such as those manufacturedby Feed Rite Automation having a high/low limit.

The bowl 66 next feeds the clips 12 into an inline feeder 68, asillustrated in FIG. 5. The feeder 68 acts as a parts accumulator andbrings the clips 12 into position for automatic loading into thesuccessive parts nests 34. A parts present switch 70 is used to detectwhether a clip 12 is present at the end of the inline feeder 68. Whenthe switch 70 detects a clip as described, it sends a signal to theescapement 74 on the inline feeder 68. Upon receipt of the signal theescapement 74 then releases one clip into the jaws 76 of the loadstation 72 as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6A.

A proximity switch 71 is provided on the load station 72 behind the jaws76. When the switch 71 detects that a clip 12 is fully inserted in thejaws 76 a downward movement of the load station 72 is triggered. Thismovement continues until the load station arm 73 moves into contact withthe stop 46 of the nest 34. The load station 72 is then locked onto themoving nest 34 through the contact of the arm 73 with the stop 46causing them to travel together. As the load station 72 travels with thenest 34 with the jaws 76 grasping the upper portion 15 of the clip 12,the station 72 lowers the clip 12 down into the parts holder 56 of thenest 34. Once the clip 12 is positioned in the nest 34, the jaws 76release the clip and the load station 72 moves up, leaving the clip 12position in the nest 34 as illustrated in FIG. 6B. As the station 72retracts, the load station arm 73 then releases from the nest 34 ceasingfurther travel of the station 72 with the nest 34. The station 72 thenreturns to its original position adjacent the inline feeder 68 to waitfor the next clip 12 to be inserted therein and to lock onto the nextnest 34 as described.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, once a clip 12 is loaded and seated in a nest34, the bottom of the lower clip 16 is contained within the mold cavity58, chamber 59 and channel 57 and retaining element bottoms 19 and 21respectively, rest on the guides 64 and 65. As the nests 34 continue tomove along the conveyor 32, they next encounter the manual load andinspection area 78. In this area, if the system 10 is not utilizing anautomatic load capability then parts can be manually loaded into themoving parts nests 34 over an extended linear distance that permits twoindividuals to accomplish this task. If an automatic loading procedureis being used then this area can be used as a manual inspection areawhere an operator can visually inspect the clips 12 in the moving partsnest 34 to insure that they are properly seated.

As the parts nests 34 leave the manual load and inspection station 78they are next transported to a redundant parts nesting station 80.Referring particularly to FIGS. 1, 8 and 9, station 80 features anoptional parts profile gate 82 and an orientation and staking device 84.The gate 82 is a plate with a profile opening 83 located at its bottomthat is dimensioned to allow a clip 12 that is properly aligned andpositioned in a parts nest 34 to pass therethrough and to force anyseverely misaligned or improperly nested clips to be removed from thenest 34 and continue no further along the conveyor 32.

After the nest 34 with a properly aligned and loaded clip passes throughthe gate 82, the conveyor 32 moves the nest toward the orientation andstaking device 84. The device 84 first senses whether the clip 12 isproperly oriented in the nest 34 through the use of a sensor 85. Avariety of different sensors can be used for this purpose however it hasbeen found that an optical sensor such as a model BOS 26K-PA-1LH8-54-Cmade by Balluff, Inc. has been found to perform well in thisenvironment.

The device 84 next insures that the clip 12 is adequately installed andit is facing the proper direction within the nest 34 such that thebottom of the clip 12 is sufficiently within channel 57 and the bottoms19 and 21 of the retaining elements are in contact with the guides 64and 65. When a nest 34 is sensed by the sensor 85, a vertically movableair cylinder mounted pusher block 86 on the device 84 moves downward toengage and exert a downward force on the top edges 22 and 23 of the clip12 to ensure that it is completely and properly nested within the partsholder 56. The orientation and staking device 84 also registers a bitcorresponding to each parts nest 34 that passes thereby. Eachidentifying bit is stored along with information corresponding to theparticular nests in a computer such as a central controller 88. Avariety of different computers or controllers can be utilized for thispurpose. One such controller is a Micro-Logics 1500 programmable logiccontroller made by Alan Bradley with an LCD touch screen. The controllercan receive input from all of the sensors and switches located on thesystem and controls all of the machine functions either in manual orautomatic run cycles. Many system functions can be changed or monitoredusing the controller display.

The device 84 is provided with three different switches generallyreferred to at 87. A variety of known commercially available switchescan be used for this purpose such as a model D-A93L proximity switchsold by SMC Corporation. The first switch senses when the pusher block86 is in a retracted position. The two remaining switches are for theextended or downstroke position of the pusher block 86. When a clip 12is correctly installed in the parts nest 34, the clip 12 will limit thedownward stroke of the pusher block 86. This triggers the first downswitch to send a bit to the controller 88 to signify that a part ispresent and properly seated in that particular nest and that materialshould be applied as that identified nest 34 passes through the materialapplication station 106. If a clip 12 is backwards in a nest 34 then thedownward stroke of the pusher block 86 falls short of the firstdownstroke switch contact and the switch will not be triggered. Thiscondition will set a machine fault signal alarm regarding the identifiednest to the controller 88. If there is no clip present in a nest 34 thenthe pusher block 86 will travel downwardly to its fully extendedposition and the second downward switch will make contact. This will seta bit in the controller 88 indicating that there is no clip located inthat identified nest. This information is relayed to the materialapplication station 106 by the controller 88 and no sealant is appliedto any identified empty parts nests 34 as they pass through the materialapplication station. The redundant parts nest station 80 is importantsince an improperly nested part could potentially cause the machine tojam.

As the parts leave the station 80, the clips 12 are properly aligned andoriented in the nests 34, likewise any nest 34 without a clip 12 thereinhas been appropriately identified and recorded by the controller 88. Theparts nest 34 then continues along the conveyor 32 and encounters a nestslide shuttle 90 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 10. The shuttle has a seriesof cam followers 92 that are angled toward the outer portion of theconveyor 32. As the nests 34 encounter the followers 92, they engage theangled end 62 of the slide 52. This causes the slide 52 to move alongthe base 38 until the parts holder 56 comes into contact with the innerface 43 of the dowel pin holder 40. This movement causes the dowel pin44 to pass completely through the central chamber 59 and into thepassageway 61 of the parts holder 56. As a result, the dowel pin 44substantially fills in the gap 26 in the clip 12 and captures and gatesthe clip in the parts nest 34 thereby completing the floor of the moldcavity 58 to contain the material that will be applied to form a sealingdevice on the clip.

Once in the position illustrated in FIG. 1 the clip 12 is ready to havea sealing device formed thereon. A spring loaded overload switch 96 isprovided in proximity to the cam followers 92. If a situation isencountered where the cam followers 92 cannot move a slide 52 of a nest34 to a fully gated position, then this will cause sufficient pressureto move the overload switch 96, indicating that a jam is present. Theswitch 96 will then cause the conveyor 32 to stop. Any such stopping ofthe conveyor 32 will send an appropriate signal to the controller 88.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 12, the nests 34 with clips 12 loaded andgated therein, continue along the conveyor 32, they next encounteranother optional parts profile gate 98. The gate 98 has an opening 100that is dimensioned to allow only clips that are properly seated andaligned in nests to pass there-through. If a clip is not properly seatedin a nest or if an additional clip or other foreign matter is locatedelsewhere on the nest, then the contact of such a clip or foreign objectwith the gate 98 will cause it to rotate out of a vertical position.This results in the tripping of a contact sensor 102 which then sends asignal to the controller 88 that will stop the conveyor 32.

After the nests 34 passes through the gate 98, the conveyor next movesthe nests 34 through an optional pre-heating station generally referredto as 94. Although this station is not necessary in all instances, ithas been found that it is often preferable to pre-heat both the parts tobe processed and the nest prior to the application of any materialthereto. It will be understood by the skilled artisan that a variety ofdifferent heating sources could be utilized. In the described preferredembodiment of applying a sealing device 28 to a clip 12, it has beenfound that use of an induction heating coil 104 as illustrated in FIG.13 has achieved favorable results. An induction heating coil utilized inthe described exemplary embodiment, that provided consistent successfulresults, was approximately 20 inches long and utilized an Interpowermodel number 1PC-1HF-60 induction heating unit.

A wide variety of temperatures are achievable at the pre-heat stationfrom slightly above room temperature to 750° F. Within this range, partsand nests can be selectively heating to a temperature at or near themelt or cure temperature of the applied material. The preferred rangefor pre-heating the nested clips 12 in order to apply plastisol sealingdevices to them in the described preferred example was found to be 200°to about 250° F. and most preferably about 250° F. Increasing thetemperature of the nest 34 and the clip 12 to the approximate curetemperature of the plastisol material serves to begin solidifying thematerial once it is applied and keep it from running down from the moldcavity 58 into the central chamber 59.

With the nest 34 and clip 12 contained therein and pre-heated toapproximately 250° F., the nest 34 next proceeds along the conveyor 32to the material application station 106 illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 14A.A variety of different materials can be applied at the applicationstation including plastisols, cyanoacrylates, PVC sealants, epoxy,silicone, nylon and evalon in liquid or powder form. Additionally,materials that are curable by exposure to an ultraviolet light sourcemay also be applied at this station. It has been found that aparticularly preferred material for forming of the described sealingdevice on the clip illustrated herein is a liquid plastisol having ablowing agent in it. A plastisol material of this type that has beenfound to achieve beneficial results is model number JX 76-A black,manufactured by Lakeside Plastics.

As each heated nest 34 moves through the application station 106, a bitis picked up from the nest 34 by a proximity sensor 108 and compared tothe previous data stored in the controller 88 for that particular nest.This data results in an instruction to the application station 106 toonly apply material to those nests 34 previously identified at thenesting station 80 as having a properly seated clip present.

The device 10 and controller 88 always know which particular nest is atthe application station as well as the exact time that it is presentbecause a fixed number of nests are located between the nesting stationand the application station. Assuming a clip is located on the nest, thenest 34 can next be optionally passed through a pyrometer that sensesthe temperature of a series of successive nests to confirm that thetemperature is sufficiently close to a pre-desired value to applymaterial thereto. If this condition is satisfied then sealant materialwill be applied thereto. If this condition is not met, then no materialwill be applied and a signal identifying this condition and theparticular nests that it applies to will be sent to the controller 88which will forward this information to the bad part eject station 130for removal. This information can also be utilized to either manually orautomatically adjust to the power potentiometer at the preheat station44.

An optional parts present sensor 112 such as an optical sensor orproximity switch can also be utilized to confirm whether a clip 12 iscontained in a nest 34. If the sensor 112 does not sense a clip 12, thena message is sent to the controller 88 and the applicator 110 applies nomaterial to the clip 12. If the sensor 112 senses that a clip 12 ispresent then it causes the applicator 110 to shift down until it is inclose proximity with the nest 34. When the applicator 110 is in thedownward or extended position a cylinder arm 111 engages the stop 46 onthe nest 34. This causes the applicator 110 to follow the axial travelof the nest 34 until the cylinder arm 111 retracts.

While the nest and applicator travel together, the applicator 110applies the plastisol or other material to a point where it almost fillsthe mold cavity 58 to accommodate for the expansion of the plastisol dueto the blowing agent contained therein. The plastisol or other materialis fed from a pressure pot (not shown) to a pair of liquid dispensingguns 113 and 114 respectively. The guns dispense discrete shots ofmaterial only when appropriately identified nests are located below.Material does not continuously issue from the guns

The guns 113 and 114 are maintained in a pre-selected position by stages115 and 116. The stages allow the guns to achieve a wide variety ofpre-selected positions in three different dimensions. Both the pressureof the plastisol material fired from the guns 113 and 114 and the timeof the application of the material from the guns is selectivelycontrollable. In the particular embodiment described it has been foundthat use of guns made by EFD (Model # 752V-UH), fed with plastisol at 40psi of pressure from a pressure pot, and using an operating pressure of35 to 40 psi and a nominal 21 second time setting resulted inparticularly preferred results. Although one or more guns canpotentially be utilized, in the illustrated example it was found thattwo guns were preferable because the mold cavity 58 is almost cut inhalf by the clip 12 that is nested in it. Once the guns have applied thedesired amount of plastisol material to the cavity 58 they cease anyfurther application. The applicator 110 reaches the limit of permittedhorizontal travel causing the applicator 110 to be raised to its upwardposition. This results in the cylinder arm 111 disengaging the stop 46.The applicator 110 then ceases traveling with nest 34. The applicator 10is then returned by backtracking it horizontally along the conveyor toits original starting position to apply material to succeeding nests 34using the above described procedure.

With the plastisol material applied in the mold cavity 58, the nest 34then moves into a post heat zone 118. While a variety of different heatsources can be utilized in this zone, it has been found that aparticularly preferred heat source is quartz lamps with solid statecontrol relays such as those available from Chromalox (part#7810-101323-F01). This permits fine tuning to compensate for variationsin ambient temperature and nest conveyor speed variations.

A typical arrangement of quartz lamps 120 within the post heat zone 118is illustrated in FIG. 15. The object of the post heat zone 118 is tokeep the nest 34 and clip 12 at a sufficiently high temperature to helpheat the plastisol applied to the clip to assist the top coat curing ofthe material. It has been found that it is usually necessary to raisethe temperature in the heat zone above the cure temperature of theplastisol to accomplish this purpose. A particularly preferredarrangement of the post heat zone utilized to cure the plastisoldescribed in this preferred embodiment, having a cure temperature of250° was to have three different zones in the oven, the first heated toabout 400° F., the second heated to about 300° F. and the third heatedto about 200° F. The post heat zone 118 may also include an optionalultraviolet light source that can be utilized to assist in the curing ofany UV curable material applied at the application station 106.

The nest 34 with the molten plastisol material applied to the clip 12therein, next moves to a staking and cooling station 122. Referring toFIG. 16, the station 122 has an overhead conveyor 124 with a series ofequally spaced wedges 126 therealong. In certain preferred embodimentsthe wedges 126 have an angled bottom. The spacing of the wedges 126matches that of the nests 34. As a wedge 126 rotates down, it is driveninto the molten plastisol in the nest at a location between the mainbody 14 and the top 27 of the lower clip 16 and as a result forms adepression 30 in that area as illustrated in FIG. 3B. The wedge 126provides an added benefit of providing an even downward force thataligns the clips 12 inside the respective cavities 58 thereby insuringthat the clip is still perpendicular with the cavity.

As the nest 34 continues to move with the wedge 126 partially in theapplied plastisol, the nest moves under a stream of coolant issuing froma coolant head 127 that is fed from a pressurized pump as illustrated inFIG. 17. This serves to assist the solidification of the now curedplastisol while leaving depression 30 in the finished sealing element28. As previously described, this depression makes it easier to installthe clip with low installation force without compromising the sealingaction of the sealing device. Although a variety of different coolingmaterials can be used, a particular preferred material is a combinationof a mold release solution and water soluble oil. A number of knownsolutions such as a Stuart Bosco 1110 Super Soluble Base can be used forthis purpose.

As the nest 34 continues down stream, the wedge 126 pulls away from, andout of the depression 30 while the now formed sealing element 28 isstill being cooled by the coolant. The nest is subsequently air driedeither by forced air from one or more fans 129 or by exposure to ambientair. At this point the sealing element 28 is completely formed andsealed water-tight to the clip 12.

The nest 34 next proceeds through another set of cam followers 128 asillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 18. The followers 128 contact the angled end63 of the slide 52 and move the slide along the base 38 to a positionwhere the pin 44 is completely removed from the central chamber 59 ofthe mold cavity 58 and the passageway 60 of the parts holder 56. As theslide 52 moves along the base 38 the angled surface 50 of the partsremover 49 contacts the bottom of the lower clip 16, moving the clip 12vertically out of the passageway 60 to a position so that it rests ofthe parts remover 49 and is loose in the chamber 59. In this position,the sealing element 28 no longer rests on the mold cavity 58 and thebottoms 19 and 21 of the retaining elements are no longer in the guides64 and 65 as illustrated in FIG. 19. In this position, the clip caneasily be removed from the nest 34.

The nest 34 then moves through a bad part eject station 130. At thisstation, a sensor 132 such as a model BOS 26K-PA-1LH8-54-C manufacturedby Balluff is utilized to sense whether a retaining element is presenton each clip 12. If a retaining element is not present the sensor 132sends a signal to the station 130 to remove that clip from its nestthereby prohibiting that clip from traveling further along the conveyor32, on that basis alone, a nest identifying information with respect tothat particular nest is checked from the controller 88, otherwise todetermine whether a clip should be removed at this point for any otherreason. This station primarily works when the system is not up tooperating temperature. The station 10 is disabled when the machinecontroller senses that all operating parameters are functioning withinthe pre-specified limits of the system. The bad part eject station alsoworks in conjunction with the cycle, start and stop and automatic stopfunctions of the system.

If the clip 12 in an identified nest 34 is not determined to be bad andis not removed at the bad part eject station 130, then the clipcontinues to the parts removal station 134. A sensor 136, such as anoptical sensor or proximity switch as described in connection with theeject station 130 senses when a nest 34 with a clip 12 therein lines upwith the ejector 138, as particularly illustrated in FIGS. 18, 20 and21. The same ejector is used at the bad part eject station 130. Theejector 138 slides a fork 140 along the upper portion 15 of the clip 12above the sealing element 28 and traps the clip between the tines of thefork. The fork 140 then lifts the clip 12 out of the nest 34 and intoclose proximity with an air gun 142. The air gun 142 then emits apressurized shot of air to slide the clip 12 off of the fork 140 andinto a container 144 for collection. The fork 142 then retracts to itsoriginal rest position and waits for the next nest 34 with a part in it.The ejector 138 will not cycle unless the sensor 136 indicates thatthere is a part in the nest 34.

The empty nests 34 then continue to move along the conveyor 32 wherethey next encounter a final set of cam rollers 146. These cam rollers146 contact and move the slide 52 in a previously described fashion backto the load position illustrated in FIG. 4. In this manner, the systemforms a sealing device on a clip in less than one entire lap of itsracetrack configuration and further permits continuous processing ofparts without shutting the conveyor down. The nests 34 then travel on tothe auto load station 36 and the process described starts over again.

In certain preferred embodiments the controller 88 may be combined witha modem or other similar device. Such devices permit data from thecontroller to be monitored from a remote location on a real time basisover the Internet or phone lines. Such a system can also be used tooperate or change certain parameters governed by the controller from aremote location.

While the principles of the invention have been made clear inillustrative embodiments, it will be obvious to those skilled in the artthat many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, theelements, materials and components can be used in the practice of theinvention, which are particularly adapted to specific environments andoperative requirements without departing from those principles. Theappended claims are intended to cover and embrace any and all suchmodifications, within the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. An apparatus for forming sealing elements on fastening devices comprising: a conveyor; at least one fastening device nest located along said conveyor, said at least one fastening device nest having a chamber, a lock and a release that are moveable relative to each other; an applicator located along said conveyor that selectively applies material to said at least one fastening device nest having a fastening device thereon; and a remover for removing the fastening the fastening device from said at least one fastening device nest.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said chamber, said lock and said release are moveable relative to each other from a first position wherein said chamber is open, to a second position wherein a portion of said lock is located within said chamber, to a third position wherein a portion of said release is in said chamber.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a mold surrounding a portion of said chamber.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said lock is not within said chamber in said third position.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said release is not within said chamber in said second position.
 6. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a first nest shuttle located along said conveyor that moves said at least one fastening device nest.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said first nest shuttle moves said chamber, said lock and said release relative to each other from said first position to said second position.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a second nest shuttle located along said conveyor that moves said chamber, said lock and said release relative to each other from said second position to said third position.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a third nest shuttle located along said conveyor that moves said chamber, said lock and said release relative to each other from said second position to said third position.
 10. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of nest shuttles located along said conveyor for moving said at least one fastening device nest from one position to another.
 11. The apparatus of claim 2, comprising an escapement that provides the fastening devices to said at least one fastening device nest, and a part loader with opposed jaws that selectively grasp the fastening devices from said escapement and insert the fastening devices into said at least one fastening device nest.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a sensor in communication with said escapement for sensing when said loader is in alignment with said escapement that causes one of the fastening devices to be fed to said loader by said escapement when said alignment exists.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said loader is movable vertically and has a retractable arm that engages said at least one fastening device nest when said loader is in a downward position causing said loader to travel with said at least one fastening device nest for a portion of the length of said conveyor.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said loader inserts one of the fastening devices into said at least one fastening device nest at the bottom of its downward travel and releases said jaws from the fastening device once it is inserted into said at least one fastening device nest.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said loader is movable horizontally over limited distance along said conveyor both in the direction of travel of said conveyor and in a direction opposite the travel of said conveyor.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a gate located along said conveyor, said gate having an opening of a sufficient size to permit one of the fastening devices that is properly located in said at least one fastening device nest to pass therethrough.
 17. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of fastening device nests and a parts nester that selectively contacts the fastening devices in said fastening device nests to properly seat and align them.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the said parts nester further includes a sensor that senses whether one of the fastening devices is present in each of said fastening device nests that pass thereby and records this result.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein a signal from said sensor indicating whether one of the fastening devices is present in each of said fastening device nests is communicated to said applicator and said applicator selectively applies material only to those of said fastening device nests that said sensor has sensed one of the fastening devices to be present therein.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a controller in communication with said parts nester and said applicator and said parts nester identifies each one of said fastening device nests that passes thereby and determines and sends a signal to said controller indicating whether one of the fastening devices is present in each of the identified said fastening device nests and; wherein said controller records and sends a signal to said applicator to apply material only to those identified said fastening device nests with the fastening devices thereon.
 21. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a second gate having an opening a sufficient size to allow a properly seated and aligned one of the fastening devices to pass therethrough without contact.
 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said second gate is movable by one of the fastening devices that is not properly seated and aligned in said at least one fastening device nest; and a gate sensor that senses any movement of said second gate and generates an alarm signal when movement is sensed.
 23. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a pre-heater along said conveyor for selectively heating the fastening devices prior to applying any material thereto.
 24. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of fastening device nests and an applicator sensor that is located along said conveyor adjacent said applicator that determines whether one of the fastening devices is present in said fastening device nests that pass thereby and sends a signal to said applicator to apply material only to said fastening device nests passing thereby that have one of the fastening devices thereon.
 25. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said applicator is movable vertically.
 26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein said applicator further comprises a retractable arm that engages said at least one fastening device nest when said applicator is in a downward position causing said applicator to travel with said at least one fastening device nest for a portion of the length of said conveyor and; wherein said applicator applies material to said at least one fastening device nest as said applicator and said at least one fastening device nest travel together.
 27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein said applicator is movable horizontally over limited distance along said conveyor both in the direction of travel of said conveyor and in a direction opposite the travel of said conveyor.
 28. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a heater located along said conveyor after said applicator.
 29. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein said heater comprises a plurality of zones wherein the temperature of each of said zones is separately adjustable.
 30. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one fastening device nest comprises a plurality of fastening device nests and said conveyor comprises a first conveyor and a second conveyor located above a portion of said first conveyor after said applicator, said second conveyor further comprising a plurality of spaced stakes thereon, said stakes each having an end that extends from said second conveyor a sufficient distance to contact material applied to the fastening devices in said fastening device nests and urges the fastening devices into proper alignment in said fastening device nests and forms a depression in the top surface of said applied material.
 31. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising a coolant applicator located along said second conveyor.
 32. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a first remover that removes the fastening devices from said conveyor.
 33. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising sensor in communication with said first remover, wherein said first remover is selectively actuable in response to a signal from said sensor.
 34. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein said first remover further comprises a vertically and axially movable fastening device lift and an air gun that removes the fastening devices from said fastening device lift.
 35. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising a second remover located along said conveyor.
 36. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein said conveyor further comprises a remover sensor that senses whether one of the fastening devices is present and said second remover activates in response to a signal from said remover sensor.
 37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein said second remover includes a lift that is movable both axially and vertically and an air gun for removing the fastening devices from said lift.
 38. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein said controller monitors the temperature of said fastening device nests at a point along said conveyor before said applicator, further comprising a fastening device remover that removes the fastening devices from said conveyor in response to a signal sent from said controller.
 39. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said lock provides a partial bottom for said mold when said chamber, said lock and said release are in said second position.
 40. An apparatus for applying material to selected portions of a fastener comprising: a conveyor; a fixture for holding a fastener and being located along said conveyor; an applicator for applying material to the fastener and being located along said conveyor; a heater located along said conveyor for heating the fastener to temperature sufficient to cure the material applied to the fastener; and a fastener remover.
 41. A fixture for holding a fastening device along a conveyor for processing, comprising: a chamber for receiving the fastening device; a lock; and a release wherein, said chamber, said lock and said release are moveable relative to each other.
 42. The fixture of claim 41 wherein said chamber, said lock and said release are moveable relative to each other from a first position wherein said chamber is open, to a second position wherein a portion of said lock is located within said chamber, to a third position wherein a portion of said release is in said chamber.
 43. The fixture of claim 42 further comprising a mold surrounding a portion of said chamber.
 44. The fixture of claim 43 wherein said release urges the fastening device out of said chamber as it is moved into said third position.
 45. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a controller that monitors said conveyor and said applicator and permits remote reporting of the results of said monitoring. 